Jon Marston, longtime Pembroke school figure, to take on principal role at Three Rivers School

When the new principal takes over at Three Rivers School in the fall, he won’t need an introductory tour to learn his way around. He won’t forget where the copier is, or what time lunch starts.

That’s because the new principal is the current vice principal, Jon Marston, who has been part of the Pembroke School District for his entire 32-year educational career. Current principal Deborah Bulkley is retiring after this school year.

Before becoming vice principal at the middle school 12 years ago, Marston taught physical education and coached varsity baseball at Pembroke Academy.

“I’ve been fortunate in Pembroke to be able to do a number of things . . . and eventually what happens is you become part of the culture,” he said. “This is a place that’s been good to me, and I want to give back.”

Marston said he’ll focus his energy next year continuing the work the staff have been doing in adapting the Common Core curriculum, including a new grading system, and enhancing the school’s communication and connection with the broader community.

“We’re already working with the Common Core, and we’ve rolled out a new grading system, but we need to continue to refine it and make it better,” he said. “This type of thing is a lot of work and the staff is putting an incredible amount of time in it, so I want to refine it as we continue down the road, make sure it’s reliable for families.”

Marston always knew he’d be a teacher, he said, and suspected he’d seek administrative roles, too, especially since his role model is his father, a longtime educator and administrator in New London.

“What he taught me was compassion,” Marston said of his father. “He was very collaborative, he worked well with a number of different types of people really well. What he always worked to do was allowing people to really blossom and experiment and feel comfortable trying new things and new ideas.

“I think including people, making people feel their worth, whether it’s a teacher, parent or student, whoever comes through the doors, is a key piece of what we need to do.”

(Sarah Palermo can be reached at 369-3322 or spalermo@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @SPalermoNews.)